About the value of the national language of science (part no. 2)

Abstract

The article examines the process of formation of national languages of science in the history of European culture, starting from the XIV century. The conditions that contributed to this process are considered. First, an absolute prerequisite for the emergence of the language of science is the flourishing of national literature, both in poetry and in prose. A significant role is played by the development of the university education, where teaching philosophy (including the philosophy of nature), i.e. the ability to freely work with abstract concepts, was a prerequisite for the transition to specialization in theology, law, and medicine. Printing, in turn, not only dramatically increased the number of readers belonging to the middle class,but also contributed to the development of national languages. Finally, since the fourteenth century in Europe, literary societies have sprung up in the courts of lords with the aim of improving the native language. These societies are gradually supplemented by associations and academies whose members are interested in science and are not limited by the statutes of universities. The article considers the formation of the scientific language in Russia in the XVIII-XIX centuries. This is a process that took almost two centuries, starting from the philological studies of V. E. Adodurov, V. K. Trediakovsky and M. V. Lomonosov. The role of Russian poets and writers, who greatly enriched the vocabulary of the Russian language, have provided it with freedom and flexibility, the importance of such organizations as the Assembly of translators, the Free Russian Assembly, the Russian Academy, etc. and, of course, the work of hundreds of scientists is of inestimable importance.